A Great Day in Harlem (1994)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jean Bach

Writers:

Jean Bach (writer)
Susan Peehl (writer)

Release Date:

24 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

Art Kane, now deceased, coordinated a group photograph of all the top jazz musicians in NYC in the year 1958...

Plot Keywords:

Photograph | Jazz | Esquire Magazine | African American | Narration

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Quincy Jones	...	Himself / Narrator
Dizzy Gillespie	...	Himself
Sonny Rollins	...	Himself
Buck Clayton	...	Himself
Art Blakey	...	Himself
Hank Jones	...	Himself
Art Farmer	...	Himself
Johnny Griffin	...	Himself
Milt Hinton	...	Himself
Chubby Jackson	...	Himself
Scoville Browne	...	Himself
Felix Maxwell	...	Himself
Paula Morris	...	Herself
Taft Jordan Jr.	...	Himself
Everard Powell	...	Himself

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Flo-Bert Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Terminal (2004)

A "Great Day" plus a worthwhile bonus disc

Jean Bach does the seemingly impossible with "A Great Day in Harlem. She makes a 40-year-old B&W photograph come alive.

Art Kane's first photo assignment for Esquire magazine in 1958 must have been his own personal Everest. Get 50+ jazz musicians in one place at one time, stand across the street, point and shoot. Sure, no problem. But the cats came in droves, some of them having not yet gone to bed after a gig the night before. Some were probably nursing hangovers. But Kane captured a photo that is a cult icon, a time capsule of the heyday of hard bop, with many seminal figures from an earlier day standing proudly beside them.

The late great bassist, Milt Hinton, who is one of the warmest and most charming people interviewed, was also a fine photographer. His wife captured much of the Great Day with a color 8mm movie camera, and it's a treat to see the ensemble milling about on the street and taking their places for the final picture.

Many of the people in this photo are not and never were household names. But the musicians Jean Bach tracked down to give their reminiscences are quick to give them their due. They recognize their skill and talent and recall the personalities of their lesser-known counterparts. Perhaps those just getting into jazz will be motivated to seek out CDs by Benny Golson, Roy Eldridge and others by virtue of the "props" given them by their old buddies and bandmates.

The Bonus Disc is worth watching, if only for the segment on "copycat" photos, and there have been many. A restaging of the original photo is quite poignant. But nothing on it is filler: the jazzmen really did warm up to Jean Bach if they didn't already know her, and they ended up talking about everything.

This documentary was as great an idea as the Art Kane photo that inspired it. Highly recommended.